Development Officer's report February 2017

Paths Project:The SCD board is reviewing the cost of the additional requirements demanded by the roads department to meet the conditions of planning. The cost revision has been carried out by McGowan’s. The decision to proceed with the project will be put to the company members at the forthcoming EGM scheduled for Spring 17Big Lottery Visit: A full strategic plan is now being worked upon by the board to meet the deadline for the lottery fund. Big lottery managers have given permission for the Board to publish progress on the application on the website and social media sites to keep the community informed. The application is time consuming and detailed. The Admin team along with the board members are working on this now.

Broadband:Lead director James Macpherson has carried out a comprehensive dialogue with various broadband bodies in an effort to improve the broadband service in the remoter parts of the Strathdearn area. Various options and schemes have been discussed and are currently under consideration. The two areas currently under discussion and previously reported, are the village of Moy and surrounding area as well as the upper reaches of the Glen. The board are still in analysis of the data and options and this is very much a work in progress. Several meetings and board minutes reflect the on -going nature of this project. The contract to supply Superfast broadband to the Moy residents has been signed and the work is due for completion by December 2017. Moy residents are encouraged to sign up for the Scottish Government subsidy voucher to reduce the overall cost of the project.

Tomatin Village shop:The Village shop has had an encouraging Christmas sales period and Lee Anne and her staff are now looking towards Valentine’s day and Easter offerings. Chocolate is on display at very competitive prices. It is important to note that a break-in to the village shop was reported just before Christmas which has resulted in an insurance claim of £1600 to White river trading insurers. The board are now actively considering close circuit recording cameras for the premises. Review of the shop offering is being looked at with the product offering looking to expand.

Development Company Website:Lead director Steve Cormack in association with Yellow Cherry marketing has now posted a new website. It is well worth a look as several new features have been added. The website now features an on line booking system for the hall and the sports centre. It is now possible to book and pay for Hall and sports centre bookings through the website. Anyone still wishing to pay by cheque or cash, can do so by paying at the village shop. The changes are to reflect the anticipated New Hall build so we are prepared well in advance.

Old Village hall/ Millenium hall:A trail pit has been dug to ascertain certain measurements at the bridge. The small excavation was carried out early in the New Year. The results of the trail pit have been submitted to roads department at the Highland council planning department. The board are delighted to report that the conditions for planning have now been met and a VERBAL response has been received that the new Hall/ Hub planning application has been successful. The board hope to have the written planning permission from Planning department very shortly. This is excellent news for the community and triggers the completion of the Big Lottery application, referred to earlier in this report.

New Hall Manager:Patricia Norton is taking over the position of Hall manager as of January 17. Patricia is part of the SCD admin team and her hours are fully funded by the Scottish government grant received last year. SCD board would like to thank Lee Anne Cornwall for her work on the Hall management and for her help and advice to Patricia during the hand over. The grant received has been extended to June 2017 with the hope that SCD will receive the grant for another financial year to March 31st 2018. Discussions on the continued grant support are on -going with DTAS. When concluded, the results will be published. Patricia is in the process of putting the hall records into a digital format for ease of access on line.

Articles of Association SCD LtdAn amendment to the company’s articles of association has been approved by the board to incorporate the addition of the Moy sub- committee. The articles include the addition of the Moy wind farm community benefits through ENECO’s wind farm. The amended articles have met with ENECO’s legal acceptance and SCD’s solicitors are checking the legal validity with OSCAR. SCD’s solicitors are happy that the article changes are acceptable. Please note that the legal bill for this work and amendments to the articles and terms and conditions, is being paid for by ENECO. It is hoped that when the legal paperwork is complete, the board will hold an EGM to pass the amendments after which the monies from the wind farm at Moy will be received.

The next SCD Board meeting is February 23rd 2017 7.30pm at the Millenium hall.